1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of processing substrates and a substrate processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of a substrate processing apparatus is a plasma processing apparatus that provides a predetermined process such as etching to a substrate such as a wafer for a semiconductor device using plasma. The plasma processing apparatus is structured by including a treatment container, inside which plasma is generated, a mounting stage provided inside the treatment container and mounting a substrate, an electrostatic chuck (ESC) provided on the mounting stage and supporting the substrate, and so on.
The electrostatic chuck is structured such that both surfaces of a conductive chuck electrode in a sheet-like form are interposed between a dielectric member. At a time of processing the substrate process, a substrate is adsorbed by an adsorption force generated by applying a voltage to the chuck electrode from a direct voltage source while the substrate is mounted on the mounting stage.
Further, in processing the substrate, a process of eliminating electric charges existing in the electrostatic chuck and the substrate is performed. After the electric charge elimination process, the substrate is lifted from the electrostatic chuck using the support pin and subsequently carried out of the substrate processing apparatus as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2013-149935.